He paused again, clearing his throat and wiping tears from his cheeks.
He had never discussed the death of his parents before. Katie had told her before she met him. Obviously he still wasn't over that shock. Carmen removed her arm and took his hand. It was cool and clammy. Poor Alex.
He squeezed her hand and continued.
"They gave him six months, but ..." He shook his head. "Alfonso found him ..." He looked away and swallowed hard. "I can't even imagine how bad he felt. He had no idea."
His voice broke with the last word. He shook his head again and wiped moisture from his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of his other hand. Letting out a long shaking sigh, he continued.
Morino wanted us to take Alfonso but my father wanted to raise him."
His tortured gaze came back to her, imploring her to help. "I don't know what to do."
Carmen felt sick to her stomach. She knew Alex was strong, but up to this moment she didn't know how strong. No wonder he wanted out of the marriage. He must be overwhelmed by responsibility at this point and she had done nothing to help. To her credit, she wasn't clairvoyant, but she should have had more faith in him.
He spoke again, riveting her attention on his face.
"I have tickets - two of them if you want to go. The flight is this afternoon."
"Of course I want to go," she said instantly. "I'll go pack some clothes for us."
It was the least she could do at this point. They stood and he followed her into the house. Their personal problems seemed small at this point. Hopefully no one else knew about them yet.
She called Katie and advised her of the situation. Katie said she would watch the children and not to worry. She sent Alex her condolences.